Military Draft Map Shows US States Women May Be Automatically Signed Up

23/06/2024

A policy change could see women automatically registered for conscription into the U.S. military.

The U.S. House and Senate are considering legislation to include women in the country's draft laws, after the House passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act last week, allowing a bipartisan measure to make draft registration automatic.

Men between the ages of 18 and 25 are required to register with the Selective Service, a database of people who could be subject to a draft if it were activated. In some states, this registration is already automatic and happens when men get their driver's license or apply for college.

Last week, a Senate committee approved a version of a Pentagon policy that would extend this automatic registration to women.

If the amended policy were to become law, women in the following states would join their male counterparts in being automatically registered for the Selective Service:

Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Illinois
Kansas
Louisiana
Minnesota
Mississippi
New Mexico
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin

military draft map shows us states women may be automatically signed up

Stock image of a female U.S. Army soldier of the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division (Raider Brigade) stands in front of tanks during a visit by the German president to U.S. The U.S. House and Senate are discussing new laws about conscription. AP

Other states—including Iowa, Kentucky, New York and Nevada—allow people to opt out, while places such as Idaho, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire and Washington allow people to opt in.

The last time a draft was activated was in the 1970s, during the Vietnam War. The policy change, if it became law, would not trigger a draft, which is activated by Congress and the president.

The topic of whether women should be included in the draft has come up several times in recent years.

In 2020, a panel of military experts told Congress it would be "in the national security interest of the United States" to extend conscription to women.

Proponents of such an extension include Jack Reed, the Democratic chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee who has said a draft being activated would mean a "serious, serious situation."

Reed said: "Women are doing a remarkable job in our forces today, and if we were in a situation requiring a draft, I think we would need all able-bodied citizens 18 and above.

"It's not like World War II where we need a lot of infantry," Reed said. "We need cyber experts, we need intelligence analysts, linguists, etc. Wait a second, there are a lot of women out there that can do this better than men."

Those against conscripting women include Sam Brown, a Republican candidate for Nevada's Senate who experienced burns to his face during an explosion when he served in the Army.

"Look at my face," Brown wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on June 15. "This is the high cost of war. Amy [his wife] and I volunteered to serve, and we honor all who serve. But forcing America's daughters to register for the draft is UNACCEPTABLE."

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